Usher Sugar Ray Leonard [PHOTOS] 'The Voice' Mentor To Play Iconic Boxer in 'Hands Of Stone', Says Years Of Dancing [VIDEO] Will 'Make It Easier' To Pick Up Boxing Moves

Grammy Award winning artist and "The Voice" mentor, Usher Raymond, landed the role as legendary boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, in "Hands of Stone," a boxing film about Roberto Duran. While Usher had appeared infilms before, he has never played an athlete, but Usher feels as though he has been preparing all his life. " I think my dancing will make it easier for me to pick up his moves," Usher told the Associated Press.

Usher has been training for the role for more that a year and still needs to loose 25 pounds before he starts shooting in October. "I've been working on familiarizing myself with the ring, sparring and just understanding how to move in the ring," the "Yeah!" singer said.

According to the AP report:

"The movie is based on Duran, a world champion in four weight divisions over a career that spanned five decades. Duran, whose nickname was "Hands of Stone," rose from the slums of Panama to defeat an unbeaten Leonard in 1980 and claim the WBC welterweight title, only to lose the rematch several months later in the infamous "no mas" fight. the biopic is based on Duran, a world champion in four weight divisions over a career that spanned five decades."

This will be Usher's first leading role in a feature film, and the seasoned entertainer said that he is up to it. "I'm up for the challenge, and I'm looking forward to it," he told the AP. "I think my overall feeling is one of anticipation. It seems like this is a real passion project. It's a film that everybody is so invested in, and I have the good fortune of having the character I'm playing still around.

The film begins production in Panama this October.

Check out Usher's dance moves in this flash back to the '90's with "You Make Me Wanna:"